Building Bridges
by nanjoknows
Summary: Nozomi rides the train to work all the time. One day, she meets a blonde woman and now she doesn't want to get off. No, she is not obsessed. (She is.) A NozoEli AU where Nozomi fails at being a normal stranger.
So this is my first fanfic since 2012 so I'm rusty af. All the errors are mine. Dedicated to the ninjas in LLPC. Hopefully I'd get to finish this story before your first grandchild.

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live and the characters. (If I did, I would have made Nozoeli canon)

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Chapter 1

I.

Toujou Nozomi was not having a good day. Despite the fact that she wore a blue shirt (the fortune woman on TV this morning said that her lucky color for the month of June would be blue) and even wore a cap with '9' sewn on it before leaving the apartment (the same woman mentioned the number 9 being her lucky number), she still had nothing but bad luck the entire day. (She was seriously considering going to the station and shout 'LIEEESS! LIEESSS!' to the fortune woman's face).

It all started when she entered her favorite cafe to grab her daily dose of caffeine. She was having a dandy time; it was a warm day, and her cup of espresso was delicious as always. Then it all came to hell when a woman tripped and spilled a (delicious) cup of coffee onto her clothes. She had no time to make a fuss because a glance at her watch told her that it was already 8:55 and she was almost late for work. She all but sprinted towards her office while wearing a nice pair of three-inch heels (that were most likely not nice nor three-inched anymore) and still arrived a minute late. Then came in her diva of a boss, Yazawa Nico, and nagged her ears off. Nico was her friend—she loved her dearly and she would give up a limb for her no doubt—but some times she just wanted to wrap her hands around her neck and squeeze, you know? Like she knows they're at work and she's her boss but can't this woman see that she was drenched with a mix of sweat and coffee?

So yeah, Nozomi's day was not good. Thank the gods it was over. She exhaled an exhausted sigh as she entered the train, and was glad that it was not full. She's not in the mood to squeeze her body into a throng of other bodies and risk herself of being groped. She closed her eyes to calm herself down and find that positive spirit that she was so desperate for.

Not even a minute passed when she sensed someone sit beside her. She opened her eyes a little and saw a woman with striking blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail, exposing an expanse of a milky neck, wearing a pair of jeans and a hoodie—Nozomi knew she was being borderline stalker-ish but this could be the only good thing about today.

The woman probably noticed Nozomi's gaze as she turned right to face her.

"What?" The woman stated with a flat tone.

"U-uh?" Nozomi stammered. Her heart pounded hard against her chest from the shame of being caught. She bit her lip and just did what she thought she should do. She smiled. Like eyes-smiling-lips-from-ear-to-ear smile.

The woman just stared at her with an unreadable expression, stood up and sat on the bench opposite her.

Nozomi sighed again and just sat there embarrassed that she made the girl mad. She glanced at the girl again and their eyes met.

Blue.

She quickly averted her eyes to her left wrist, not wanting to anger the woman further.

The numbers glared with red neon colors, it was 9 pm.

II.

Nozomi placed the back of her hand in front of her mouth to cover a yawn. It was just half past nine in the evening and she was ready to pass out.

 _I'd probably be hungover tomorrow,_ she thought to herself, the sensation of alcohol burning her stomach still there. She entered the train and was not surprised to see that there weren't a lot of people inside. She strode to her usual spot and sat down, pulling out her phone from her bag to send a quick text to her friends that she safely got into the train.

When the train paused at one station, she dozed off for a minute or two (or ten minutes who knows). However, she was shaken awake when the train cab jerked into a stop. She glanced to the window behind her and was surprised to find not a station but establishments meters and meters below. The train must have stopped in the middle of its track.

There was an announcement from the officials that there were some problems but they would fix it as soon as possible and told the people to stay calm.

 _Well, whatever._ Nozomi closed her eyes, hoping to get at least a few minutes if sleep when she heard someone curse.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Beside her was the blonde girl from a week ago. She looks considerably more stressed out as she shouts at a phone in her hand, but still strikingly beautiful.

"дерьмо!"

Nozomi had no idea what she just said but it might as well be the word that encompasses all good things in the world (even if she sounded angry and had no qualms in slapping a bitch if need be).

But Nozomi, with the aid of alcohol (thank you alcoholic bosses), found a rush of sudden bravery, walked towards the woman, and sat a few inches from her.

"Hi. Do you need help or something? I'm sorry if I'm stepping over any boundaries..."

"Yes, you did step over them." The blonde said with a sharp tone, still looking at her phone.

 _Oh, shit._ Nozomi thought. _Good going, dumbass. Now she's mad._

"I'm sorry... But if you need anything..." Nozomi turned around, desperately trying not to show anybody her reddening face. She prayed to any gods present to have the trains fixed already so she could go home quicker and watch trash reality TV (somehow, watching people make dumber life choices makes Nozomi feel better).

A few steps away from her original seat, she heard the other woman call her.

"Hey wait!" The blonde was looking at her and Nozomi thought that she seemed more calm that a few minutes earlier. She watched the girl sigh, a hand scratched her pale forehead. "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine—"

"No, it isn't. I'm taking out my anger on you."

Nozomi wanted to tell her that _yeah, that's not nice at all!_ but the woman beat her with an explanation.

"I need to call someone badly and my phone just died."

"I can lend you my phone if you want..."

"Really?"

Nozomi just replied with a nod, handing her phone to the blonde. _If you keep on looking at me with those baby blues, I'd let you do anything._

"Thank you!"

And then it happened. The blonde smiled. The blonde _smiled_ and Nozomi felt frozen on the spot despite the already moving train (Oh! It's already working!). The smile was like cold water on feverish skin—that feeling of something so powerful it reaches your insides (and you didn't know you would want it but you did. You did. You did.)

She didn't know how long the blonde used her phone but if felt so fast. The next thing she knew, the woman was already returning the gadget to her.

"You're a lifesaver... Umm..."

"Nozomi. Toujou Nozomi." She said with a smile. For a moment there, Nozomi thought she forgot her name (damn that smile).

"Thank you, Nozomi." The blonde said, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry again for snapping at you earlier."

"I'm so sorry if I smell like vodka..." The purple haired woman gave the other girl a slight smile, as she pocketed her phone, trying to lighten up the awkward atmosphere. She took a seat beside the blonde. "I was coming home from a party."

The girl gave no response so Nozomi continued her monologue, "I work at a film production company and earlier, our senior stunt coordinator held a farewell-slash-retirement party,"

"He was almost sixty three years old and though it was quite sad, most of us were just relieved because we didn't have to go through another day of filming, worrying that he might break a bone or something."

From the corner of her eye, Nozomi saw the blonde's lips curl into a smile so small, but a smile nonetheless.

"One time, he tried to show a stuntman how he wanted him to jump and we all just paused from our work to look at him because we're so scared that his knee might give up on him if he did..."

"I walked and stood behind him so that I could support him when he jumps and my friend actually called the medics just in case,"

At that statement, the woman looked at her and again, Nozomi was graced with a smile that shone despite the slightly dim train cab.

"Why are you telling me this?" The girl inquired, still smiling.

"No reason." Nozomi chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck.

The engines hummed and she felt the train vibrate into life once again. The train arrived at the station just a few minutes after. Once they did, she watched as the blonde grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. The blonde stepped out of the train and waved at her shyly.

Nozomi waved back and maintained her smile to hide the disappointment of not learning the girl's name. But a few seconds before the door shut closed, she heard her voice one last time.

"I'm Ayase Eli."

Nozomi just stared at the door until the train sped away.

III.

She did not see the blonde until three days later.

Nozomi was already on her usual spot, the busy day at work already taking a toll on her body. It was Friday anyways, so she decided that upon reaching her apartment, she'd soak in a hot bath for a really long time.

She felt a soft tug on her hair, glancing at her left, she saw a little brown haired girl sitting next to an older woman. The little girl had her hair into two pigtails and a yellow jumper, happily showing Nozomi a stuffed bunny toy.

She smiled and gave the little girl a small wave which the little girl responded with a gap-toothed grin.

When Nozomi looked up, she saw, a few meters away, the blonde-Eli-looking at her. Their eyes met but was immediately broken when Eli glanced away with a cough. A few seconds later, Eli glanced back and gave Nozomi a small nod before looking back to the window.

Nozomi inwardly chuckled and refrained from doing a fist pump as the little girl beside her was still looking at her with a questioning gaze. Still, Nozomi bit her lip to stop a smile. _P_ _rogress_ , she thought.

IV.

She spent the entire weekend thinking of a way to start a conversation with a blonde stranger, who unlike Nozomi, seemed to not really like the idea of talking to other strangers. Which is understandable, because wasn't that the first thing that people learned before growing up?

But try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about Eli. The woman must be of a foreign blood, no one in Japan has that naturally blonde hair and a striking pair of blue eyes.

When her friend, Nico, barged in to her house (the little bitch doesn't know how to knock) and asked what Nozomi was so deeply thinking about, Nozomi just replied with an _I'm thinking about ways to take over the world_ with a straight face, earning a nasty glare from her black haired friend.

The two of them just lazed around in her apartment, drinking tea and just scanning the channels on TV.

"What are you even doing here Nico-chi?" Nozomi asked, though her eyes are still glued on the television. The changing images as it showed one channel to another was kind of hypnotic. "Are you not supposed to be with your girlfriend today?"

"Nishikino Maki's not my girlfriend!"

The purple haired woman just grinned slyly at her friend who looked offended as she blushed furiously. "I do not remember ever mentioning _Nishikino_ or even the name _Maki_ , Nico-chi. But apparently she's the one you immediately think of when you hear the word _girlfriend_. Congratulations. Invite me to your wedding."

Nozomi chuckled at her friend's obvious discomfort and then focused again on the TV. Her eyes widened and the tea that she was drinking almost came out of her nose in shock when a familiar blonde's face appeared on the television.

Not even a two seconds later when the channel changed and the blonde's image disappeared. She slapped her friend's arm holding the remote and exclaimed, "GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS CHANNEL!"

"Calm down, woman! Oh my god!" Nico exclaimed from her side, still rubbing her arm that just got smacked.

Nozomi's eyes were glued to the TV but was immediately disappointed. Instead of seeing the blonde stranger, she just saw a commercial about vacuums. Her face turned glum and wondered if it was just her imagination.

And why the heck was she thinking about the girl too much to even start seeing things, she didn't know.

V.

Monday came and went and even before Nozomi arrived at the train station, she already felt like collapsing from exhaustion.

She had to wait for the last train to arrive after a very long and tough day at work. She had to work over time after her team encountered a problem on the set that had to be fixed immediately. No amount of spiritual power could have made her day positive, she thought as she suppressed another yawn.

She could not form into words her surprise however, when she saw a very familiar blonde gracing the pathetic human beings (her included) with her existence as she slowly walked towards the platform. Instead of the usual hoodie and jeans the golden haired beauty was wearing a form fitting dark blue dress that fell perfectly just below her knees. Covering the milky skin of her shoulders was a white shawl that made the blue of her eyes pop.

When she noticed the woman striding towards her (and she swore that she could see a hint of a smile, squeal!) Nozomi was torn between excited and panic. She mentally punched herself for not even caring about wearing something presentable when she left work. She glanced at the other woman's pretty dress and to her own dirty white shirt under her two year-old jacket paired with old denim shorts. Uhh Nozomi why didn't you listen to Nico when she told you that you look like shit.

She did not have the luxury to panic even more because the blonde woman stopped right beside her, without a word.

Nozomi gulped, turning to the one on her left with a smile. "Hello."

The woman replied with a smile, "Isn't _don't talk to strangers_ the first thing we learn as a kid?"

"Not really, I think _do not play with fire or you'll wet your bed_ was the first thing my mom taught me." She heard a chuckle from the blonde, just above the loud beating of her chest. ( _Shut up, heart! She might hear!_ ) "I know your name though and you know mine, so technically, you're no longer a stranger, _Ayase Eli-san_." Nozomi let the name roll off her tongue slowly, relishing the slow blush that colored Eli's fair cheeks. "Oh, good evening to you."

(Good evening indeed.)

Eli let out another chuckle from her pink lips. Her blue eyes met Nozomi's contrasting green, "Good evening. Are you well?"

"Well, not really. Work was too hard today." _But at least I saw you today,_ she wanted to add but she didn't have the courage to do so. Afraid that it might sound too forward (borderline weird) to the other girl.

"So has the Train Samaritan helped anybody today?" Eli asked, her voice ringing with mirth.

Nozomi couldn't help but smile bigger at that. "I didn't see any blondes needing any help today. I don't know. Maybe she went to a late night party?"

"Oh no. I attended a recital today-"

"For ballet?"

Eli threw her a skeptical look. "How did you know? I do not remember ever telling you something about that."

"Well you didn't. But when I saw you at the train, you were wearing a shirt that has a logo of a ballet academy or something under your usual blue hoodie-" Nozomi's eyes grew wider for probably the second time tonight realizing what she just said. _So much for not sounding like a stalker!_ "Uhh-I'm not... before you get the wrong idea, I'm not a stalker or something! I just have good memory?"

To her surprise, Eli just gave out a musical laughter, even wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. "Really?"

"N-no-" the purple haired woman stuttered, suddenly finding her jacket's pocket interesting. She felt something covered with a metallic foil inside her pocket when she shoved her hands inside. It was a piece of chocolate. She remembered Nico giving her some earlier. She took it into her palm and brought it to the girl beside her. "You want a kiss?"

"What?"

Her eyes widened for the nth time that night. "I-I mean! Chocolate! Do you want chocolate?!"

Eli stared at Nozomi for a couple of seconds, her gaze sucking out the air out of the purple haired woman's lungs. There was just something about the blonde's eyes that without a doubt can put the most prized aquamarine to shame; it was so captivating. Nozomi's trance was then cut off when Eli began talking.

"I like chocolates." Eli smiled, her hand reaching out to grab the lone piece of sweet. "Thanks."

Silence.

Nozomi tried so hard not to stare so much at Eli's lips as she sucked on the chocolate. _Her lips are so pink. And so moist. And so—_

"Hey, Nozomi."

 _Did she hear my thoughts? Dear God no._ Nozomi tried her best not to cover her head and stop her thoughts from leaking out (as if that would help). She slowly turned to face Eli and hoped that she didn't look like a tomato about to explode.

"Are you okay?" Eli asked with a slight tilt of her head.

(Oh god, she's adorable)

"I'm fine. Ha ha." Nozomi pulled on the drawstrings of her jacket. "You were saying earlier?"

"Oh. It's nothing..." Eli drawled.

"Hey Eli," Nozomi started, her jacket's drawstrings now wrapped around her finger. "Would you want to grab coffee with me some time?"

VI.

"So Eli, that coffee?"

Nozomi took the seat beside Eli on the train, three days after they last saw each other.

"Where and when?"

"Tomorrow morning at 8? There's a small café near the station from last time. I heard they have great waffles."

Eli grabbed her bag and pulled out a pen and paper. She scribbled something for a few moments and handed it to Nozomi. Eli stood up and began heading towards the train's exits, her pony tail hypnotizing Nozomi as it swayed. "I'm more of an eggs and bacon girl, but I'll give you a chance. See you, Ms. Samaritan."

( _No, Nozomi. Don't pump your fist-AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!_ )

Billions of thoughts ran through Nozomi's mind in lightning speed. But no. She needed to not appear too eager. That's not a good impression. Nozomi swallowed and composed herself, relishing the texture of the paper that carried Eli's number in her palm. She smiled her best smile and replied to Eli (and is that a blush?), "Sure, see you."

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*дерьмо (derʹmó) = shit


End file.
